Hy-Line Brown Pullets / Chickens

Hy-Line Brown

General InformationSo, what is a pullet exactly? Pullet means a female hen that is under a year old and has begun laying (normally starts around 18 weeks). The Hy-Line Brown has an excellent temperament making it ideal for free-range environments.Some of the wonderful features of the Hy-Line Brown are:

Reknown as reliable egg layer

Early laying age with good sized eggs

Very economical feed consumption

Excellent interior egg quality

The Hy-Line Brown hen is also ideally suited to free-range applications. The calm temperament, excellent feather retention, robust egg shells and excellent egg production make it a perfect choice for free range environments

Brown Hy-line CareHabitat:Introduce your new chickens to their new house by confining them inside for 24 hours with food and water, so they accept it as their new home.You will need to have your chicken-house set up before you bring any chickens home. This should be set up on well-drained land that will not flood. There are a lot of different options; you can research at the library or on the internet. They will need a lockable door or a pop-hole which is essential to keep out any predators. Good ventilation is very important to provide fresh air, but you would also need to prevent draughts. The nesting boxes should be filled with either wood shavings (non-treated) or straw. The floor of the chicken house should drain freely and be kept clean and dry and there must always be dry areas for roosting. The floor should also be covered with wood-shavings for ease of cleaning and for the birds to scratch and forage in. Ideally the house should be cleaned daily but a thorough clean should be done once a week. The house will also need to have roosting perches. These should be raised off the ground enough to protect them from predators or rodents but low enough so they are readily accessible without the risk of injury to the birds.Hens need a warm house and a nesting box where they feel comfortable to lay their eggs. This is usually in a corner of a raised nesting box with hay or straw in it. This needs regular cleaning to avoid mites which can easily breed in the boxes, if this occurs spraying with a suitable spray should be carried out including checking all the hens to see if they have been affected. A suitable area with grass for them to peck and dust-bathe is also a must for them.

Food & Water:The pullets should have free access at all times to water and a suitable laying feed, a higher protein level [17% is an acceptable level] will ensure a happy hen and lovely brown eggs daily! You can also give them scraps (not recommended are green potatoes & rhubarb which is poisonous to them). They especially like silver beet plants, pumpkin, and other veggies they can peck on.

Companionship:Its better to have 2 or more chickens as they are naturally communal animals and they love company. The brown hy-line is a quiet bird, not flighty, which is why they make great pets.